Material for covering carriages



(No Model.)

B. W. HARRAL.

MATERIAL FOR COVERING GARRIAGES. No. 297,257. Patented Apr. 22, 1884.

5mm% W A time]; S AT ATENT FFICEO EDWARD W. HARRAL, OF FAIRFIELD,CONNECTICUT.

MATERIAL FOR COVERING CARRIAGES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297.257, dated April22, 1884;

Application filed March 21, 1884. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD W. HARRAL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fairfield, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMaterial for Covering Carriages; and I do hereby declare the follow ingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same. My present invention is an improvement upon the clothdescribed in my Letters Patent No. 280,309, dated-June 26, 1883, and hasfor its object to provide a material for'covering carriage-tops andother analogous purposes,

theinner surface of which shall, be a woolen fabric and theouter'surface a water-proof fabric.

: Heretoforein thi it has been common to use an ordinary grade ofwater-proof -cloth, the back of which has i been flocked in the ordinarymanner-that is to'say, the back has been covered with varnish 5 or otheradhesive substance, afterwhich shoddy wool has been dusted thereon. Inthe finer grades of carriages it has been common to line the entire topwithawoolen fabric,which has sometimes been stitched orcemented to the 3covering material and sometimes left loose.

This lining fabric (broadcloth) is very expensive, and requires carefulhand-finishing at the edges, it being secured to the covering materialby a blind-stitch. Moreover, if left loose, the lining soon becomesbaggy, while if cemented to the cover it makesit clumsy and stiff,rendering it exceedingly liable to crack,

so that in fact the more expensive material is equally unserviceablewith the cheaper. By my invention I am ableto overcome these ob jectionsand to produce a cloth which upon the wrong side is equal in appearanceto the finest broadcloth lining, is but'slightly more expensive than theflocked goods referred to above, is very much less expensive than a"broadcloth lining alone: and is light, flexible,

and exceedingly durable, being able to withstand the, severest extremesof temperature without being injuriously affected thereby.

In mydescription I shall refer by letters to e cheaper grades ofcarriages improved cloth greatly enlarged. Fig. 2 is a plan view of theback before the water-proof 5 5 I material is applied, and Fig.3 is aplan view .of the wool face thereof.

A represents the warp and B the weft threads of a cotton fabric madewithout dressing.

C represents a facing of wool, which is ap- 6o plied after thecompletion of the cotton fabric, the bat-of wool being laid upon thesurface thereof, after which the bat and cotton fabric are submitted tothe action of a series of blunt or finely-barbed needles, the action ofwhich is to force the wool into the interstices of the cotton threads,causing it to take firm hold thereon, so that it becomes mechanicallyinterlaced therewith and forms part of the fabric itself. 'More or lessof the wool is forced be tween the cotton threads, so as to show on theopposite'side of the goods, as indicated in Fig.- 2. This, however, isincidental; but the right side of the goods presents a smooth, even woolsurface which is as durable as if the fabric were made of wool and a napraised in the ordinary manner.

To the back of the fabric which I have thus minutely described I applyin any ordinary manner a coating ofwater-proof material, which sinksinto the interstices of the cotton threads, taking firm hold thereon andupon the wool itself, which has been forced in from the opposite side.It will thus be seen that in the completed fabric its separate anddissimilar component parts are thoroughly united and blended together,so that upon one side is presented an even, smooth wool surface and uponthe other a water-proof surface, the cotton threads in the centerthereof serving to give strength and firmness to the fabric,while at thesame time the fabric as a whole is but slightly thicker than ordinarywater proof cloth,-or than'the lining alone, with which it has beennecessary to line the water-proof 5 cloth for use in the better gradesof carriages.

As compared with other materials for carriagecurtains now in use, myimproved cloth is wholly free from the bulkiness and stiffness more orless common to all. It is exceedingly roe pliable, so much so that itmay be kept rolled upon the opposite side a facing of water-proof oreven folded for considerable time without material, which enters'saidinterstices, taking suffering injury, and will stand the long-con firmhold both on the threads and the back of tinned action of alternate sunand rain without the facing, substantially as described.

5 showing the slightest tendency to crack or rot. In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in r 5 r I claim as my inventi0npresence of twowitnesses. A new material for covering carriages and v EDWARD W. HARRAL.analogous uses, consisting of a cotton fabric Witnesses: having upon oneside a facing of w0ol,which is DANIEL MOLONEY 1o forced into theinterstices of the threads, and JAMES O. BUBR.

